Reflected price tag or the like



P 3, 1946? E. CROWSON 2,406,743

REFLECTED PRICE TAG OR THE LIKE Filed July 12, 1944 in \\\\\w in ock Z Crow-son.

2 I I I m Patented Sept. 3, 1946 UNITED STATES ?ATENT OFFICE REFLECTED PRICE TAG OR THE LIKE Enoch E. Crowson, Greenville, S. 0. Application July 12, 1944, Serial No. 544,553'

7 Claims. 1.

My invention relates to a sign or price card holding device for use in connection with a bin having a mirror, such bin bing used for holding produce, such as vegetables, fruits or the like, or other merchandise to be displayed.

As is well known, in food storesv it is customary to have a produce bin equipped with a mirror. The bin includes a lower inclined support or table upon which the produce is mounted and at the back of the support is an upstanding mirror which is usually inclined forwardl and disposed at approximately a right angle to the support. The mirror reflects the produce and produces the effect whereby the vegetables appear in an increased amount. The use'of these mir-- rors, as far as I am aware, has been for from eight to ten years. During this period, difficulty has been experienced in arranging price cards in suitable relation to the vegetables. It has been proposed to apply price cards directlyto the vegetables, but this is impractical as the constant handling of the vegetables or the he, by the purchasers, removes the price cards. It is also the practice to arrange a price cardat the front of the bin at the top of the mirror, or at the front of the bin at the support. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that the price cardis too remote from the produce and cannot be. readily observed when the purchaser is close to the vegetables or the like while handling or purchasing the same. The price cards must be readily removable, as the prices frequently vary. For this reason they cannot be permanently secured to the mirror.

In accordance with my invention, I provide means for removably mounting a price card upon theupstanding inclined mirror and holding the price card substantially horizontally. The price card may be arranged at a suitable angle to the mirror, such as 45 and will bereflected in the mirror and the image will appear back of the mirror at the same angle to the mirror that the price card assumes with respect to the mirror. The price card image will therefore extend rearwardly beyond the mirror in an upstanding rearwardly inclined position and will appear to be imbedded in or in close relation to the reflected vegetables or the like. therefore retained in close relation to the corresponding reflected vegetables or the like and may be readily observedby the purchaser when close to the vegetables while handling or purchasing same. The price card is in an out of the way position and in no way interferes with the arranging of the vegetables or the like upon the.

The price card image is In accompanying drawing forming a part of this application and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame,

Figure 1 is a front'elevation of a produce bin embodying my invention, 7

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken. on line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the blank for. forming the supporting element or bracket,v

Figure 4 is aperspective view of the price card: supporting element or bracket,

Figure 5 is a plan view of the price card,

Figure 6 is a central vertical section through a modified form of supporting element or bracket showing a suction cup attached thereto, and

Figure 7 is a plan view of a further modified form of bracket.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration are shown preferred embodiments of my invention, the numeral Ill designates a. produce bin, comprising a lower portion having a vertical front strip I I and a vertically inclined table or support I2, upon which the vegetables or fruit are arranged. The front strip projects above the support [2, to hold the vegetables in place, as shown. The support 12 is inclined, as stated, and extends upwardly rearwardly from the front strip l l, to place the vegetables or fruit in proper view of the purchaser. Arranged at the rear of the support I2 is an upstanding mirror It, formed of glass or the like. This mirror is vertically inclined and is inclined forwardly toward its upper end and is preferably arranged at approximately a right angle to the support #2. The mirror is held in place upon thebin by any suitable means and the upper edge of the mirror extends to anoverhanging' cover M of the bin having a front vertical strip l5.

The bin thus described is of the conventional type having a mirror, which has been used for from eight to ten years, as far as I am aware. The vegetables IE or the like are" arranged in a suitable manner upon theinclined support and are reflected in the mirror whereby the volume of vegetables appears to be doubled. The vegetables or fruit are arranged in groups upon the support l2 and price cards are ordinarily secured to the front strips II or I5, indicating the price of such produce, such as potatoes, onions, fruit, etc. These price cards thus arranged can be readily observed when the customer is at a considerable distance from the bin, but when the: customer is close to the bin, in the act of hank dling or purchasing the vegetables, these price cards are not conveniently visible. The price cards are so remote from the different groups of vegetables that confusion or mistakes frequently result.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a supporting element or bracket 11, which is preferably formed from a flat, rectangular sheet of metal, Figure 3, which is folded or bent upon a diagonal line 18, to provide tapered upper and lower sections it and 2B, which are angularly disposed with respect to each other. The tapered sections [9 and 20 may be arranged at an angle of about 135 with respect to each other although this angular arrangement may vary somewhat.

The mirror I3 is inclined at approximately 45 forwardly from the perpendicular, and the lower bracket section 28 is placed upon the front face of the mirror so that the elevation of the upper horizontal bracket section i9 is approximately that of the highest point of the vegetables. The bracket section 20 is now secured to the mirror [3 by an adhesive. Any suitable adhesive may be used, such as a rapidly drying cement. I may use duPonts cement, which is a white, transparent fluid which dries and sets rapidly. Another cement which I may use is known as Vinylseal made by Carbide 8: Carbon Chemicals Corporation. Any suitable cement may be used and the bracket section 26 may also be secured to the mirror by means of adhesive tapes, if desired. With the lower bracket section 20 arranged as stated, the upper bracket section It will be substantially horizontal. It is preferred that the upper section Ill be horizontal and when the inclination of the mirror l3 varies, the upper section i9 may be angularly adjusted with respect to the lower section 20, by bending the sheet upon the line l8, so that the upper section it will be horizontal. With the bracket thus secured to the mirror l3 and the upper section if) supported horizontally, the price card 2| is placed upon the horizontal bracket section l9. This price card is printed in reverse and for the purpose of illustration is shown as provided with the designation lbs. 29. The price card thus horizontally arranged will be reflected in the mirror to produce the image 22 and this image will be at the same angle to the surface of the mirror as the price card 2 l. The reflected image 22 will therefore appear as upstanding and being inclined slightly from the vertical rearwardly behind the mirror. This will bring the image 22 in close relation to the reflected vegetable image l6 and the reflected image of the card is superimposed on the reflected image of the vegetables. Since the price card H is horizontally arranged, its edge is presented to the vision of the purchaser so that it does not obstruct the view of the reflected image 22 of the price card. By arranging the price card 2| at substantially the elevation of the highest point of the vegetables, the supporting element or bracket may be substantially concealed from the view of the purchaser. The effect produced is interesting and creates the impression that the price card is in sub stantial contact with the reflected image of the vegetables. The price'card 2| is not attached to the bracket ll and 'may therefore be readily removed therefrom. v

. I also contemplate applying a suction cup 23 to the lower section 20 of the bracket or supporting element ll, Figure 6. This suction cup will be attached to the lower section 20 by, any suit: able means as by passing its stem 24 through an opening 25 in the lower bracket section 26. When the suction cup 23 is attached to the lower section 20, such suction cup is employed to secure the supporting element or bracket to the mirror and the cement is omitted.

As stated, the bracket or supporting element may be formed of sheet metal and is bent upon the line l8 so that the upper and lower sections l9 and, 20 may be angularly adjusted with respect to each other. I also contemplate forming the bracket or supporting element of rigid material, such as plastics, and when this is done the bracket includes separate upper and lower sections 26 and 21, formed of plastics or the like,

and having apertured knuckles 28, receiving a I pin or pivot 30. Thepin has sufficient frictional engagement with the knuckles so that the upper section 26 will remain at the selected adjusted position with respect to the lower section 21, when shifted thereto. This supporting element or bracket will be applied to the mirror and attached thereto by means of the cement or the suction cup or any other suitable means.

While I contemplate applying my invention to a bin having an inclined mirror and serving to support produce, such as vegetables, fruits or the like, yet the invention is not necessarily restricted to use in connection with such produce as it may be used in connection with the sale of other merchandise which will be displayed in connection with the mirror.

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A bin for supporting produce or the like and having a vertically inclined mirror adjacent to its rear, the mirror extending forwardly toward its upper end and extending above the produce, a card, and means mounted upon the front face of the mirror and supporting the card in a generally horizontal position adjacent to the mirror and above the produce, the card having indicia upon its upper face, the arrangement being such that the reflected image of the card is superimposed on the reflected image of the produce.

2. A bin for supporting produce or the like and vertically inclined and extending upwardly in a rearward direction and having a vertically inclined mirror adjacent to its rear, the mirror extending forwardly toward its upper end and extending above the produce, a card, and means supporting the card in a generally horizontal position in front of and adjacent to the mirror and above the produce, the card having indicia upon its upper face, the arrangement being such that the reflected image of the card is superim posed on the reflected image of the produce. 7

3. A bin for supporting produce or the like and having a vertically inclined mirror adjacentto its rear, the mirror extendingforwardly.toward its upper end and extending above the produce, a bracket having upper and lower sections which are angularly disposed with relation to each other,

the lower section being secured to the front face of the inclined mirror and then holding the up.-. per section in a generally horizontal position, the upper section of the bracket being arranged above the produce, and a card mounted upon the upper section and having its upper face substantially horizontal, the upper face having indicia formed in reverse, the arrangement being such that the reflected image of the card is superimposed on the reflected image of the produce.

4. A price indicating device for use in connection with a bin for holding produce and having a vertically inclined mirror adjacent to its rear, the mirror extending forwardly toward its upper end and extending above the produce, said device comprising a rectangular stiff sheet folded upon a diagonal line for providing upper and lower tapered sections which are angularly adjustable with relation to each other by bending the sheet upon such line, the lower section being secured to the front face of the mirror and arranged substantially parallel therewith and the upper section being substantially horizontal, the upper section being disposed above the produce, and a price card mounted upon the substantially horizontal section and having its upper face substantially horizontal, the upper face being printed in reverse, the arrangement being such that the reflected image of the card is superimposed on the reflected image of the produce.

5. A price indicating device for use in connection with a bin for holdin produce and having a forwardly inclined mirror adjacent to its rear, the mirror extending above the produce, said device comprising upper and lower sections having coacting knuckles, a pin pivotally connecting the knuckles and having frictional engagement therewith so that the upper and lower sections may be angularly adjusted with relation to each other and held in the selected adjusted position, the lower section being secured to the inclined mirror and the upper section being substantially horizontally arranged, and a price card mounted upon the upper section and having its upper face substantially horizontal, the upper face being provided with characters in reverse, the arrangement being such that the image of the price card is reflected across the reflected image of the produce.

6. A price indicating device for use in connection with a bin for holding produce and having a vertically inclined mirror adjacent to its rear, the mirror extending forwardly toward its upper end and extending above the produce, such device including a supporting element disposed near and adjacent to the front face of the mirror above the produce and arranged at an angle to the mirror, the mirror and supporting element diverging forwardly, and a price card mounted upon the supporting element and having its upper face substantially parallel with the supporting element, the upper face being provided with characters, the arrangement bein such that the reflected image of the card is superimposed on the reflected image of the produce.

'7. A bin for holding produce, comprising a vertically inclined table which extends forwardly toward its lower end and a vertically inclined mirror which extends forwardly toward its upper end, the mirror projectin above the produce on the table, means vertically spaced from the inclined table and mounted upon the front face of the mirror, and a price card having characters in reverse upon its upper face, the means serving to support the price card in a generally horizontal position, the arrangement being such that the image of the price card is reflected across the image of the produce.

ENOCH E. CROWSON. 

